The Academy for Social Purpose in Responsible Entertainment (ASPIRE) partners with universities, community organizations, scholars, and activists to advocate for sustainability and social justice through media-focused teaching and research. ASPIRE teaches digital media production to undergraduates of all majors to enhance their lifelong capacities to undertake social issue advocacy.

The Academy for Social Purpose in Responsible Entertainment (ASPIRE) partners with universities, community organizations, scholars, and activists to advocate for sustainability and social justice through media-focused teaching and research. ASPIRE teaches digital media production to undergraduates of all majors to enhance their lifelong capacities to undertake social issue advocacy.

Read the fall 2017 article on ASPIRE, "Nonfiction Media Practice as Twenty-First-Century Liberal Education: The ASPIRE Experiment at UCLA" in the Journal of Film and Video 69.3 here!

Video Showcase

A dance documentary about desire, hookup culture, and sexual violence in Greek Life, created through weekly action-conversations with members of sororities and fraternities at UCLA.

Student Films

See more student films through the @UCLA menu at the top of the page.

The Urban School Food Alliance (The Alliance) was created by school food professionals in 2012 to address the unique needs of the Nation's largest school districts. The Alliance allows the districts to share best practices and leverage their purchasing power to continue to drive quality up and costs down while incorporating sound environmental practices. Students affiliated with ASPIRE at UCLA contributed whiteboard animations to advocate for USFA's national policy positions, featured on the group's website starting in 2015.

A first generation Chicana comes into her identity as a queer mujer and struggles with maintaining different expressions of her identity on campus and back in her hometown in Southeast Los Angeles. By Kayleigh Wade, 2 min.

An independent street vendor describes her struggles and motivation to continue her business in the face of gentrification in the neighborhood of Echo Park. By Kimberly Soriano and Janeth Lopez, 5 min.

In remembrance of 35mm film, this piece reflects on the displacement of celluloid by digital formats. By Anthony Elder, 2 min.